Heretofore, pneumatic tires, including those of the radial type, have been provided with annular protuberances or bulges extending axially from the sides of the tires.
For example, it is known to provide a pneumatic aircraft tire having annular, axial protuberances on each side thereof beginning at the shoulder areas of the tire and extending partially downward radially along its sidewalls to be normally in contact with a wheel rim so that, upon defection of the tire during landing of the aircraft, the protuberance and rim help to absorb the shock of the impact, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,477,754. This tire is also provided with a reinforcing breaker whose lateral side edges extend into the axial protuberances.
It is also known to provide a tire having either one or two annular, axial protuberances at its shoulder area which extend outwardly beyond the adjacent flexed sidewalls to prevent damage to the sidewalls of the tire due to shock or abrasion caused by obstacles striking the sidewalls, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,182. Similarly, annular axial protuberances have been employed in the shoulders of pneumatic tires to serve as anchor points for axially oriented tread stiffeners, such as shown in British Pat. No. 973,247, for example.
In general, the annular, axial protuberances in tires disclosed in prior art patents serve as shock absorbers, tread reinforcement anchors, sidewall abrasion protectors or water deflection ribs, rather than as integral parts of the tire which dynamically cooperate with the remaining tire parts to improve overall tire performance. Thus, none of these prior art tires are designed for enhancing the stability and gripping characteristics of the tire at high speeds, during cornering and turning and when subjected to sudden stops and braking action under both dry and wet conditions.